Stand By Me

I watched the movie Stand By Me. I think the movie was made to show that everybody has an experience in their lifetime that moves them a step forward from childhood to adulthood. These experiences aren't always the easiest times in our lives but, we all have to go through them. Gordie the main character's brother died in a car accident. He goes through a very hard time because he looked at his brother as a father figure and a parent. But, when he lost his brother he realized his parents didn't card about him as much as his brother did. They didn't pay attention to him. Throughout the movie he opens up to his best friend Chris. He explains to him all of the hard times he has gone through with losing his brother and not having a father figure in his life. Chris helps him through it all and they learn together that they both have had problems in the past that have pushed them to grow up.

Chris, Gordie, and their friends Teddy and Vern we're camping out in the woods to find a missing body. Each person had a different time to stay up and keep the look out. When it was Chris' turn to keep the look out Gordie woke up from a bad dream. That's when Gordie opened up to Chris. Gordie cried onto Chris and vented to him and told him all about his brother. I think he cried because, he realized he doesn't have his brother anymore. He doesn't have any father figure in his life. It got him scared to think that not many people care about him anymore. He felt alone. Chris comforts Gordie by telling him that he is there for him and always will be. Chris took on a very important and special role in Gordie's life and this helped him move closer to adulthood as well.

Rash Romeo

I am currently reading the play Romeo and Juliet. Some people may think that Romeo is in love with Juliet. Also that the decisions that he so quickly made some people may find sweet and some people may think that he is truly in love and it is love at first sight. I disagree. I believe that Romeo is just a teenager who laid eyes on a pretty girl and is claiming he is in love with her but he isn't. He is making decisions way too quickly. Also the night hat Romeo "fell in love with Juliet" he was originally  looking for another girl named Roseline.

Romeo is making decisions and thoughts on Juliet too quickly. He plans on marrying her only a couple days after they met. When couples meet they date for a couple of years not for a couple of days. He barely knows her personality. All he knows is that she is a Capulet. The Capulets are the enemy's of the Montagues which is Romeo's family. Not only is he going against his family but he is going against his faith and beliefs. He is willing to kill himself for Juliet and I think that he is going a bit too fast.

Romeo cried and was completely depressed over a girl named Roseline. He was head over heels in love with her so his cousin Benvolio wants to bring him to a party that he knows she will be at. When they get there they search all around for Roseline and Romeo takes one look at Juliet and immediately just forgets about the girl he was crying about just a few hours before this. He is moving on way too quickly. What would happen if Roseline comes back and just decides that she does love Romeo? Would Romeo just leave Juliet? I'm not positive that Romeos love is true for Juliet.

In conclusion, I believe that Romeo is just a teenager who is a hopeless romantic. He is 13 years old and rushing into marriage and love. He is too young to commit to being married. He doesn't know what marriage truly is. I'm not sure if a 14 year old is ready to fully make the decision to spend the rest of their life with a girl he has known for a couple days. What do you guys think? Is Romeo really in love? Or do you agree that he is just being a rash teenager? Comment below! Thanks!

FIGHT AGAINST FAT

I read the article Obesity Rates Falling by Cameron Keady from the New York Times. This article is mostly about how in U.S. cities obesity rates for children are decreasing. Cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles are slowly succeeding in "their fight against fat" as Keady states in the article. Mississippi was the highest rated state for obesity in the nation. Keady wants the readers to know that U.S. cities are slowly making an improvement on trying to end obesity. Keady wants us to be aware that even though obesity may be a huge problem and especially for people at a younger age it is being taken care of, and we are trying our hardest to end it.

Keady wants the readers to feel knowledgeable towards the fact that child obesity is a big issue today in our world and even though it may not being moving quickly the approach to stop it is beginning. Keady adds in the article that from 1980 to 2000 the obesity percentage for children from the age of 6 to the age of 19 tripled. Obesity can cause diseases and extreme harm to the body and your life. In 2011 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention tried to arrange to get healthy foods in schools and food stores and so on. Little things like the CDC helped out on the U.S.'s journey to fight obesity.

I believe that it is very good that cities in the U.S. are making a movement to try to stop child obesity from happening so often. Looking at the statistics I think that the improvement we have made is very good. All of the different organizations are an amazing help to cities of the U.S. trying to decrease the rate of children who are becoming obese. It is dangerous for the health of these poor children so knowing that we are trying to save their lives is truly heartwarming.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

        Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

 By, Dylan Thomas    

            The theme of the poem Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by, Dylan Thomas is to fight against struggles or dark times. Thomas is trying to tell the reader not to give up or give in to anything they may be going through. Thomas is telling the reader that even if you know you might not win your wars, you should fight your hardest against them. He wants the reader to not “gently” give in to your issues, but to “rage” against them.

            In Thomas’ poem he says “Do not go gentle into that good night”. When he says this he’s telling the reader to not give into their dark times. It may be difficult and it may take some hard work but, just keep fighting and don’t give into that “good night”.  When Thomas says good night I think he means the easy way out. Good would mean easy, but night would be a symbol for the rough or dark times that the reader may be going through.

            Then, Thomas adds, “Rage rage against the dying of the light”. When he says this he is trying to tell the reader to fight harshly to move past a period of time that may be tough for him or her. When Thomas says to “rage”, he is saying to the reader to fight and to work hard to get out of periods of times that are difficult to go through. Then when Thomas says “dying of the light”, he is using it to symbolize the painful times that the reader might be going through.

            In conclusion, Dylan Thomas is trying to tell the reader that if they are going through a time that is putting them down to fight through it. He is saying that even though it may be difficult, to keep fighting until you get through. He is telling the reader to “rage” against the dark times. Thomas wants the reader to stick through everything they are going through and to battle their way through. Win or lose, he is saying not to go down without a fight.

Bad Religion-Frank Ocean

One of my favorite songs is Bad Religion by Frank Ocean. Bad Religion is a song about one of Frank Ocean's experiences/struggles of growing up being attracted to the same sex. He says in the song how it is a "bad religion" to be in love with a boy or a man when you are a boy or a man. Throughout the song he is saying that he can't trust anyone because if he tells anyone they will look at him as if he is going against religion and god. He also shares that he will never be able to find love with someone who will love him back. He is trying to run from the truth, and avoid telling everybody who he really is.

In the song Frank says "taxi driver you're my shrink for the hour" he is saying he is talking to the taxi driver who is a man who doesn't know him or anything about him. Frank decides to talk to the driver about his concerns of "coming out of the closet". The cab driver gives him a prayer but, Frank still sees himself as a person with a "bad religion". He then says "if it brings me to my knees, it's a bad religion." saying that he has tried to use religion to get out of the pain of hiding all of these secrets from all of these people but nobody will except him. He also says "it's rush hour, take the streets if you want to, just outrun the demons, could you?" saying that even though there might be traffic it's okay because he will have more time to speak to the taxi driver and when he says demons he is referring to his lies he is keeping from everyone. He wants to avoid it all.

This song really made me think deeper about people who are holding in the truth about themselves, because they feel as if they are not excepted. Nobody should feel like they should hold back their true feelings because they are afraid of how they will appear to other people. Frank Ocean put out there that it is hard to be able to trust people because you aren't sure if they will frown upon you. Or in his case looked at as if he has a "bad religion".

Change a Big Problem, Do a Small Action

I read the article "Animal Abuse- Enough is Enough" by Ricardo Contreras. The main idea in this article is that people need to start acting to help out to stop animal abuse. If not stop then at least try. Ricardo states a couple of ways you can do this like donating money to a company that helps prevent any harm done to animals around the world. These charities are not much money at all so it wouldn't hurt to reach into your pocket and pull out a dollar or even less.  Or teaching younger kids that animal abuse is wrong so they can learn at a earlier age. Although all of these are very good ideas for if you witness animal abuse but Ricardo tells us that the best thing to do in this situation is to report it. This way you let other people know and the situation going on can be handled immediately.

Contreras is purposely trying to make us feel pity for these animals. He wants us to feel pity for them so there is something to make us realize that there is cruel things happening to these living creatures and we can make a change and help. These innocent animals are being manipulated and harmed by inhumane people. He stated all of these possible ways to help in his articles to show us that we can make a huge change by doing something so small. These animals are being physically and mentally abused and its in our hands to stop it.

I agree with the author because this is such a huge problem in our world today. We can help by doing the smallest actions. It's up to us to solve this problem. After we do everything we can to help tell other people to help also. Tell friends and family and neighbors. Let people know what is happening to these animals. Because the more people that help the more the problem will be solved.

Non-Fiction

I read the article Animal Abuse-Enough is Enough! by, Ricardo Contreras.  The main idea about this article is that everyone needs to find a way to try to help stop animal abuse. According to the article you can do this by, donating money to a company that helps prevents any harm done to living animals, or teaching younger kids this so that they know it's wrong at an earlier age. The author also adds that many of the charities for animal cruelty are little money. So there is no reason for any of us not to be able donate a dollar or even fifty cents. Although all of these are good ideas, Contreras says "reporting animal cruelty is the best thing you can do to help stop it." He adds that this is because you can help the animal that is currently being abused, and any animals that could be abused after that.

Conteras is trying to make the audience of this article feel bad for these animals. He is trying to show you that these animals need help. They need to be saved from any people who might think it's okay to manipulate innocent animals. He stated all of the possible ways that you can help the animals and how easy it would be if we just made a phone call or donated some money. More and more animals are being abused around the world and it's up to us to stop it.

Role Model

Jolly is a mother of two children and is very young. She works very hard for her children and she works hard to have them happy. LaVaughn, Jolly's babysitter for her kids, goes to Jolly's house quite often after school. When she gets home her mother says how Jolly is a bad influence and how Jolly is not a good person to be around so often. I disagree with her mother. I believe that Jolly is a good person to look up to. I think this because Jolly was able to take on the difficult challenge of having her own children at such a young age.

Jolly is a hard working mother of two young children. She is living all by herself with the responsibility of having to take on the lives of two other people. Jolly is only seventeen and she has one son named Jeremy who is two years old, and one daughter named Jilly who is an infant. Jolly works for the factory. It's not an easy job and the pay isn't that good, but she is working for her children. She's working so they can have a better life.

In conclusion, Jolly should be thought of as a role model. She has gone through so much and she hasn't given up she has took care of her kids. She is still working hard at her job. She is still trying to be a good mother. She is a seventeen year old girl going through all of this at once. She is strong independent and hard working.